If you want to get a job, you need to create a resume that a hiring manager wants to look at for more than six seconds. Since employers don’t have the whole day to spend reviewing candidates’ resumes, they only spend approximately six seconds on each one and within that timeframe they can tell if you are what they are looking for or not.

Ultimately, the resume that gets the job is the one that can effectively present your skills and qualifications in a way that’s clear and concise. A lot of things come into play when employers look through your resume and if they find out that it doesn’t comply with their own ‘set of rules’ – or better yet their requirements, then you stand no chance of making it to the next phase, the interview.

To help you make the most of your resume, these are the five most important elements that you need to pay more attention to and get noticed.

1. A Strong Career Summary

An eye-catching career summary can give you a competitive edge. When it’s done right, it can easily set you apart from other candidates because it instantly provides employers with a brief introduction to your professional profile. A career summary focuses on three main points. It answers to who you are; it talks about your key skills/expertise in the field and lastly refers to your career objective and goals. It tells employers that you are self-aware and that you know what you want out of your career. If you have experience in a certain area within your field, this is where it needs to go.

2. Relevant Keywords

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Including keywords throughout your resume is one way to beat the applicant tracking systems. It makes it more relevant to the position and to what the employers are looking for. It also helps employers know that you know what you are doing and what you are expected to do. Unless you want to miss your chance of getting the job altogether, ensure that your resume makes use of key phrases and buzzwords that are also used in the job description.

3. Customisation

Your resume will get more points if you can use industry-specific language. Every field has its own specialised terms and phrases and learning how to incorporate these into your resume will make you look more knowledgeable about the things that matter to employers. It shows that you are aware of your role, how the business operates as well as what is expected of you.

4. Creativity

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Creativity is a skill that every employer looks for in candidates, so if you want to stand out, you have to show that you are inventive and resourceful. If you are applying for an arts-related position, it’s quite easy to create a resume with a unique design and come up with an out-of-the-box idea for a resume such as a video or an infographic resume.

However, it can be more difficult when you are trying to show your creativity using a traditional resume. What you can do is experiment with the colours and then check how your resume looks, change fonts and make section headlines clearer. This will definitely get your resume to the top of the pile.

5. Your Accomplishments

Most job seekers don’t know that listing job duties and responsibilities won’t help them get what they want. For a resume to be powerful, it needs to refer to specific examples and present quantified results that can convince employers you are the right candidate for the job. Regardless of your industry, talk more about your achievements instead of job-related tasks, and explain your contribution while in your previous position. For example, did you lead any projects in your last job? How did you help the company achieve its goals? Think about these when you are writing your resume and get down to the real facts.

Once you decide to give it a try, you will realise it isn’t hard to make a good impression with your resume. So, next time you are applying for a job pay attention to these five elements that can seriously increase your chances of landing a job.

So how do you think your resume measures up? Does it include any of these elements? Let me know in the comments section below…;

Source

http://careeraddict.com

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